Rooms with a view

In five to seven years, Armon Hanatziv will have almost doubled its population.

By JOHN BENZAQUEN
Armon HaNatziv building 521 (photo credit: Sarah Levin)
Armon HaNatziv building 521
(photo credit: Sarah Levin)
They’re a must on every tour of the city of Jerusalem, the breathtaking Haas and Sherover promenades, collectively known as the tayelet (promenade), with their sweeping views of the Temple Mount, the Judean Hills and, on a clear day, the Dead Sea.
Near this famous Jerusalem landmark is the neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, also called as East Talpiot.
The entire neighborhood is built on a large mountain and, from a bird’s eye view, it looks like a large amphitheater opening out to the Judean Hills, Jordan and the desert. The unique topography and the view are its major selling points. From many apartments in Armon Hanatziv, one can see as far as the blue of the Dead Sea to the east and the Herodion to the south.
The neighborhood has over 3,500 households with more than 1,500 units.
In five to seven years, the neighborhood will almost double its population.
The beginnings of the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood go back to the 1920s when a sprinkling of houses was built as a southern garden suburb of Jerusalem. Modern Armon Hanatziv can be divided into three parts. There is the part adjacent to Jebl Mukaber, which we will call area A. The part that is adjacent to Arnona we will call B, and the part in between we will call C.
Prices in Armon Hanatziv vary according to location. An average fourroom, 120-square meter apartment can cost NIS 1.32 million in area A; NIS 1.65m. in B; and NIS 1.5m. in C. An average three-room, 75-sq.m. apartment in A can cost NIS 850,000; NIS 1.1m. in B; and NIS 950,000 in C.
Rachel Gluck, a real estate expert with the Re/Max Vision real estate agency and herself a resident of Armon Hanatziv, told In Jerusalem that “The real estate market in this area is very lively. Older residents are upgrading their living standards, selling their relatively old-fashioned homes and buying more modern apartments with elevators and parking. Many are moving to nearby neighborhoods such as Arnona, Baka and Talpiot. Consequently, many young couples and young families are moving in because the prices relative to prices in other parts of Jerusalem can be considered inexpensive.”
The past three years have brought hundreds of young couples and families with small children who cannot afford the prices in neighboring suburbs.
One of the recent positive developments has been the relocation of Ulpan Etzion to Armon Hanatziv. The ulpan caters to new immigrants, and some of the families make the neighborhood their home. Some of the religious families who live in the neighborhood are Anglos who attended Ulpan Etzion.
Besides young couples and families, which make up about 75 percent of the current buyers on the market, investors have been purchasing property in the neighborhood as well. Investors have been able to get annual yields of 4% to 5% on their investments because there is steady demand for affordable rentals in Jerusalem.
It is also an area that is attracting retired families who are looking to relocate.
With manicured lush lawns in the main valley, the parks and the views, it’s a beautiful place to retire. Prices have definitely risen these past few years with properties now selling for between NIS 14,000 and NIS 18,000 per meter for the streets in area B closest to Arnona, such as Adam, Elkahi and Remba; and between NIS 10,000 and NIS 14,000 per meter for the streets on the other end in area A, such as Barazani, Ben-Yosef and Rubovitch.
Three years ago the most expensive properties in Armon Hanatziv were going for NIS 11,000 per meter, and there were still s o m e properties available for NIS 500,000. Now the most inexpensive property on the market is in the NIS 750,000 range.
An additional factor that is making Armon Hanatziv even more attractive is the fact that the Young Neighborhoods Project, an official project of the Jerusalem Municipality, is active there. The purpose of the project is to help attract singles, students and young families to the neighborhood. It has been working with residents to understand what is needed in the area.
The result has been recent improvements, such as some new children’s parks and additional bus lines, and a large number of activities being provided by the community administration.
Armon Hanatziv is an enigma. It is a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Jerusalem with commanding views of the surrounding areas, yet it is inexpensive.
It is still possible to acquire properties with stunning views for slightly more than NIS 1m.
In real estate, location is everything and Armon Hanatziv has a lot of what makes up that “everything.” So why don’t prices shoot up? The only plausible explanation is that there is still a social stigma of sorts in living in Armon Hanatziv. Despite all its advantages, it is still not “in.”
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RECENT REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN ARMON HANATZIV
• A three-and-a-half-room, 70-sq.m. apartment on Rehov Mordechai Elkahi with a succa balcony, stunning view, private storage and in need of renovation was sold for NIS 1.1 million.
• A five-room, 120-sq.m. duplex in a terraced apartment on Rehov Mordechai Elkahi, in good condition with a succa balcony was sold for NIS 1.7m.
• A fully renovated four-room, 80-sq.m. ground floor apartment on Rehov Avshalom Haviv was sold for NIS 1.2m.
• A fully renovated three-room, 75-sq.m. apartment on Rehov Isaac Remba, with a 15-sq.m. succa balcony was sold for NIS 1.3m.
• A fully renovated five-room, 130-sq.m. duplex on Rehov David Raziel, with a 50-sq.m. porch and 20 sq.m. garden was sold for NIS 2.4m.
Transactions by RE/MAX Vision- Jerusalem